meridiacampaignsettingfandomcom-20200213-history
Bellaura Milone
Description and Personality From all accounts, Bellaura Milone looks quite ordinary. She has no truely distinguishing features and no outstanding characteristic. At 5'6" and 130 lbs she cut a slight and unimposing figure. Her long wavy brown hair cascades down to just above her hips. Her clothing are usually of a dark color, from habit of working in the shop as much as from her mother's insistence that darker clothing lasts longer and will less easily be ruined by stains. A pair of elbow length gloves are also part of her daily attire as a safety precaution since her apprenticeship to the alchemist. Bellaura has always been quiet, reserved, and painfully shy with strangers. She seeks to avoid conflict whenever possible. Early Life My Little Bell, Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I'm sorry this illness has taken me so untimely from you. I wish I could have been there for you one more day than I had. I hope you grow stronger in my absence every year. It's now been over four years since you were left to care for yourself. If by now your father still hasn't gotten his wandering ass back to the Narrows, you should probably have Jenny take care of the shop and go after him yourself! Be sure to take inventory of everything in the shop so you can demand the correct amount of gold when you get back. Jenny's cut for taking care of things is 10%, NO MORE! She will try to tell you it's more but you stick to what I tell you, 10%. I know you're not used to being assertive, but you wouldn't want a lifetimes of work I've put into that shop to be squandered, would you? Go after that no-good father of yours. He should be home tending everything and not running off to who knows where. When you find him, at least try to give him a good tongue thrashing for me. I will always love you, my little Bell. Kisses, Mom Bellaura folded her mother's last letter to her and stored it in an inside pocket of her already packed bag with the others. She had memorized each of the four letters written to her to be openned on her birthday every year since her mother's passing. This latest has been read and re-read so many times that the words on the creased areas are faded and worn. But it warmed her heart to think of her mother, her rock, her shelter, her anchor; even if the townsfolk never warmed to the mother and daughter, thinking the former too shrewd to be friends with and the latter just a shy little puppet who could never live outside of her mother's shadow. Bellaura never resent her mother for being an overwhelming personality. Perhaps it was because of it that she was so quiet and reserved herself. In their little home for three (although it was mostly just mom and her), there was enough opinion and talk for three from Mrs. Laura Milone alone. The neighbors were never quite comfortable with the iron-willed woman who would not give an inch without getting a foot in return. Bellaura supposed that part of her mother's personality had much to do with having an absent husband for a majority of her married life and having to fend for every little scrap they had. When Sarles Milone knocked Laura Finley up and was forced to end his "adventuring life" early to settle down in Marble Narrows, they hadn't much in the way of material possessions. Soon after Bellaura was born, Sarles took up being a traveling trader, buying items from one area of the world to sell at another for more. It was more likely he tired of playing house in a small city and wished to see more of the world he did not finish seeing when he got shackled with a ball and chain. It was with the little gold made from his first trip that allowed Laura to rent a small storefront and sell some of the more interesting items Sarles brought back with him. Bellaura remembered most of her childhood spent in the shop, behind her mother's skirt, peering out at strangers passing through town who thought to stop by the eccentric "Odds & Ends" for perhaps a lucky or rare find. Although Laura Milone was not a great judge of what might be worth gold, she was quite a good judge of people and can usually tell from their behavior whether she could get more for an item than she originally had in mind. And she generally did. Laura kept her daughter sheltered and protected from bullying neighborhood kids who teased the only girl with no father around to the creepy strangers with an unnatural fondness for little girls. "Her little Bell" was the nickname she gave Bellaura, who was named, in part, after her. Bellaura still missed her mother terribly, after almost five years since she was struck down by a wasting illness that took her in only a few months. In contrast, she had little memories of her father. Her most vivid memory of him was of him gifting her with the most exquisite and finely made doll anyone she knew had ever seen. She named the doll Sarah and they have been inseparable friends since she was 6. Being a quiet and mostly inactive child, Bellaura took good care of Sarah and even after 15 years it remained in good condition, at most a bit faded from the washings. Sarah now sleeps at the bottom of Bellaura's full pack. Aside from that, she didn't remember much of the man who contributed 50% to her birth. Bell sighed once more and led Ned, her bay gelding farther away from the only home she's ever known. Sable, the black tom, lifted his head out of one side of the saddlebags and meowed indignantly at being so unceremoniously stored. Bell rescued the tormented little black kitten from some superstitious children a few years back and nursed him back to health. It was the only conflict she had ever sought out in her entire life. The counter to his weight on the other side was Bell's precious alchemy supplies and books. After her mother's passing, Bell apprenticed herself during her spare time to the old, retiring, alchemist in Marble Narrows. Fortunately the old man was getting on in years and could not tend his own wares and so moved his things to Odds & Ends to sell. For room and board, as well as all the profit from his own wares (after a while, made mostly by Bell) old Glynn the Herbman taught Bell all he knew. Turns out, alchemy was one thing she was quite good at. She was sufficiently skilled at making healing potions for minor aches and pains that eventually all of Marble Narrows as well as traveling traders came to Odds & Ends for their minor remedies. Glynn, knowing Bell's eventual journey will lead her out of the safe little town into the dangerous world outside, even taught her the valuable recipes for concocting various volatile explosives as protection. Although she diligently perfected the recipes, Bell loathed the day she would make use of them. With all the wealth she had inherited and saved the last few years, Bell took a last look at the outskirts of Marble Narrows and mounted her horse. Although she had no idea where to go to find Sarles Milone, she had the last package he sent to her by way of a trader based largely in Darkstone, the premier city in Haven. Bell will begin her search for her father there. The Journey's Beginning On only her second day of travel toward Darkstone, Bell met up with a small caravan of traders and their families heading toward Tael, a farming community just south east of Darkstone. She was invited to travel with them until they needed to part ways. The peaceful journey was abruptly interrupted just before the caravan's arrival to their destination when slavers attacked. Only by good luck and Ned's determination did Bell manage to escape certain capture and an even more certain life as a slave. Ned carried her further north while she simply clung on still in shock of the recent events. They ran headlong into a pair of adventurers on a foray out of Darkstone. Still frightened and skittish, Bell related her ordeal to the helpful gentlemen, Rico Holdt and Niel O'Brien. The pair turned out to be bounty hunters looking for some action as well as coin. They volunteered themselves as Bell's temporary bodyguards but continued toward a bandit leader to attempt to capture or kill him for the price on his head. Bell was frightened and very reluctant to head back into the direction of danger. However, making her own way in unfamiliar territory with slavers possibly around the next bend was even less appealing. The three found the group of bandits after a couple of days of tracking. Staying behind, Bell watched the expert marksman and dashing swordsman meet their enemies courageously. Inspired by their bravery and the necessity of protecting herself, she used her explosives on a live target for the first time in her life, to highly destructive results. Numb and shellshocked by the flying bodyparts, Bell almost stopped there for good. But the situation did not allow for her sensibilities as the battle continued for what felt like an eternity. When the battle was finally over, and the bandit leader disposed of, Bell noticed the wounds on her volunteer guards and quickly resume the role she was more comfortable with by dispensing healing elixirs to quickly heal them. The act was greatly appreciated, as it turns out. For when the pair escorted her to Darkstone and collected their bounty on the bandit leader, they gave her an equal share in the bounty, claiming her help was indispensable. Following the two, since she knew nothing and no one in the city, she ended in a tavern called The Cracked Egg where she meet the third in this bounty-hunting troupe, an half-orc named Franklin Devinshire. The loud atmosphere and rowdy clientel assulted Bell's every sense. She quickly asked for recommendations for a place to stay before practically running out of the establishment. Before leaving though, Bell had made up her mind to hire the troupe of seemingly competent bounty hunters as the best means of finding her lost father. Supernatural Interventions Having no substantial clues concerning the whereabouts of Sarles Milone, Bell was uncertain if the bounty hunters would even be interested in her job proposal. But she had to ask, for the sake of her quest. Just after meeting with and informing the three of her offer, a strange breeze carried a note through the window, which claimed that the sender knew Sarles' location. Intrigued by the possibilities of something more than just a mundane missing persons' job, the trio eagerly accepted the challenge and accompanied Bell to meet with the note's sender. A most angelic of figures appeared amongst the group. Celestine Brightwing gave a clue to Sarles' location and pointed the companions to some ancient ruins in the swamps west of Darkstone. Within the ruins, the group found a curious pentagon shaped indent on a pedestal. They also found a map with several more locations marked. It was there in the ruins where they met another winged woman with clues. Unlike her counterpart, Seraphin Blackwing revealed more distressing than helpful information. She taunted and laughed at the group before finally departing. Distressed by the new information, Bell became more determined to quickly find her father. The trail led the strickened Bell and her group, now more friends than mere hirelings, to the Darkstone sewers. There the group found another pentagon shaped indent on the door of a locked hidden vault in a little known section of the sewers. The pieces of artwork found in that section of the sewers were sold and kept in the Darkstone Museum. From a visit to the museum, they found out from the helpful curator that Baron Divilant, a self proclaimed art enthusiast and avant-garde, had in his possession the key to the hidden vault in the form of a pentagon amulet with a large shattered gem in the center. After stealing in to the Baron's private rooms, they stopped another thief from taking the amulet key first and gained the first piece of the puzzle. Down in the sewers, the group opened the vault to find lines and lines of ramblings on the wall, some of which were in Sarles' hand. The troubling sight only added more intrigue to the situation. Following the marks on the map in the ruins, the next destination was Silverstein. The group found the second amulet in a tourist attraction haunted mansion. It was there that they also found an inkling of what had befallen Sarles Milone. A fragment of his soul was trapped in each of the amulets found thus far. Seraphin Blackwing made another appearance to the companions and tormented Bell with what is now known to her. Before Bell completely collapsed under the weight of despair, Celestine Brightwing appeared as well and prompted the swift departure of the former winged woman. She was able to give some insight to the name found with the second amulet, Taral Brenth. He was Sarles' business partner who betrayed the man and either tricked or coerced him into open all of the doors to the treasures using the amulets, trapping a piece of his soul with each use. Celestine Brightwing assured Bell that all is not lost and directed the group to the northern desert city of The Maw. A Detour Before embarking on the long trek through the desert into The Maw, the group needed a reliable water source. Rico's runesmithing abilities were put to use to make a vase capable of providing an unending water supply. However, to get enough runestones for the item, the companions had to detour to Tael. While runestones were difficult to come by in Darkstone, the government procuring most that make it in to the city, the farmers in Tael used runestones to power their farm equipment and had some to spare, for the right price. The companions arrived in Tael hoping to make a deal with someone in the farming community. It was soon revealed that the slavers had been raiding the outskirts of the city mercilessly, taking many of the workers away to distant lands to be sold as slaves. The group gladly took on the task of clearing out the nearby slavers. Franky was especially eager to make the slavers pay. After breaking up the band of slavers and receiving payment in runestones, the group returned to Darkstone while they waited for Rico to complete the vase. Upon its completion, the journey to The Maw finally began. The Final Pieces The group's first day at The Maw was spent at the slave auctions where Franky and Niel could not help but save a couple of farmers' daughters, Cassandra and Elinor, from their cruel fate as slaves. They outbid everyone to purchase the girls who have both lost their families during the slavers raids on their homes near Tael. After a visit with the informants Black and then, Red, the group found that one of the amulets was being kept with other items in the bank's repossession inventory. After some haggling, Bell secured one more piece of her father's splintered soul fragments. Niel also found a treasure in the piles of repossessed goods, a cup with a dagger that turned out to have amazing regenerative powers. With the cup and some alcohol, Niel healed the burns on his face and restored his old looks before the tragic (and stupidity induced) accident. Tracking the last two amulets led the companions back to Darkstone once more. Taral Brenth has made much of himself with all the treasures extracted using the amulets. He kept the last two amulets close to his person. After gathering information from Red, who has since opened operations in Darkstone, the group was ready for the final assult on Brenth. Long was the battle and the chase, for Brenth did not intend to turn himself over to the avenging daughter. After much bloodshed on both sides, the group was able to catch the betrayer and retrieve the last two amulets. Although no one of the group dealt the killing blow, it was assumed that Brenth did not last long being left burning after a long fall down several flights. Possessing all five amulets, Bell was able to contact the soul of her father, trapped for years within the amulets. Through the use of Niel's magnificent healing cup, she restored Sarles' body and soul. It was a joyous reunion enhanced only by the announcement that there was to be a double wedding in the near future. Franky and Niel were to wed Cassandra and Elinor on the same day in an intimate double wedding planned by Bell. There was much celebration and drinking. Sarles acted as the honorary parent and walked both brides down the aisle to their respective waiting grooms. Soon after the wedding, Sarles retired back to the Narrows and the family store, finally done with his wander lust. Bell was set to return with him when Rico, encouraged by Franky and Niel, finally proposed to her. The proposal was gladly accepted and the two settled in Darkstone beside their friends. Bell opened a small alchemy shop selling her potent healing elixirs and potions, and rarely, for the right price and good reasons, one of her powerful explosives. Although their lives were peaceful and the income steady, the excitement and adventure of the occasional bounty still brought them out of Darkstone to the road. Bell has grown out of her former timid and shy shell to emerge stronger and more confident.